Phenomenex Inc., a global leader in the research and manufacture of advanced technologies for the separation sciences, announced today that its Phree Phospholipid Removal Plates have been recognized as one of the top innovations of 2012.

According to Phenomenex president and CEO Fasha Mahjoor, “These awards reflect the depth of our product development pipeline and the fast pace at which we are able to bring new technologies to market.”

Phree Phospholipid Removal Plates provide fast cleanup of plasma samples in pharmaceutical and clinical research laboratories. In one step, Phree removes both proteins and phospholipids and delivers the prepared plasma to a collection plate. The high-capacity Phree sorbent can process up to 400 µL per well and remove 99.0 to 100 percent of lysophosphatidyl and phosphatidyl cholines, which are not removed when a simple protein precipitation is performed.

Successful chromatographic analysis of plasma samples requires the removal of both proteins and phospholipids, which can clog HPLC/UHPLC columns. Phospholipids can also cause ion suppression and over time will reduce sensitivity due to buildup on the mass spec source. Phree removes both proteins and phospholipids in one step, eliminating time-consuming method development. The plate format enables the simultaneous processing of 96 samples, for significant time savings.